Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

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Arab Bank to close last branch in Gaza

YNet reports that after Arab Bank closed two of its three Gaza branches last week, it is now planning to quit Gaza altogether:

The largest bank in the Arab world, the Arab Bank, will shut down its three Gaza branches, the Calcalist learned Monday. Their closing will mark the last of the banks working according to international banking standards in Gaza.

More importantly, the Arab Bank was the main channel for funds transferred to Gaza from aid organizations as well as any financial interaction with the outside world.

Local Palestinian banks are the only ones to remain in Gaza, among them the bank of Palestine and the Islamic Bank, which do not function according to international standards or receive funds from international sources, who fear their money will fall into the hands of Hamas. This danger exists because these banks are unsupervised.

The reason the Arab Bank has decided to shut its doors is a fear of future lawsuits by anti-terror organizations. Calcalist has learned that the Hamas authorities have recently demanded of the bank all tax money collected, which is generally transferred to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. The move would certainly expose the bank to lawsuits.

"Conditions have emerged which make running a proper bank impossible," a source affiliated with the Arab Bank told Calcalist. "In recent months the bank has limited its operations in Gaza, but now there is no choice. The bank must halt all operations in the Strip in order to comply with international banking laws," he said.

Last week a group of gunmen entered a local Palestinian bank and demanded $400,000 of its collected tax money.

The bank's desertion will be a rough blow for Gazans, who will no longer be able to transfer money abroad and will certainly suffer difficulties in receiving paychecks or aid money from Ramallah.

"We are committed to the most severe banking standards and maintaining a high level of operations in accordance with international rules of propriety. Unfortunately, the situation in Gaza does not allow us to function at the level to which we are committed, and therefore the bank's operations will cease until proper working conditions are made available," the Arab Bank stated to the Calcalist.

I'm sure that the Gaza flotilla will bring Hamas all the cash it needs....

Swedish cartoonist attacked by Muslims (video)

From Sweden's The Local:

Artist Lars Vilks, who caused controversy by drawing cartoons that depicted the prophet Muhammad as a dog, has been attacked while giving a lecture at Uppsala University.

Vilks, who has been the subject of numerous death threats, was attacked while speaking at the university’s philosophy faculty on Tuesday afternoon. He was not badly hurt.

“The man was sitting in the front row and suddenly came rushing towards me. He headbutted me, and I was thrown against the wall and dropped my glasses,” he said.

According to local newspaper Uppsala Nya Tidning, the atmosphere in the lecture theatre became rowdy after Vilks showed a film with sexual content.

“A crowd of people pushed forward. When a police officer tried to stop them he was hit. As things stand, two people have been arrested,” said police commander Tommy Karlsson.

Vilks was taken to a secure location following the attack.

“I have not been injured, just a bit knocked about,” he said.

Haaretz contributes to worldwide anti-semitism again

Ha'aretz has a very peculiar story:

Microbiologists in Israel are preparing for the potential arrival of tourists infected with a lethal fungus, which caused several deaths in the United States and whose source has been linked to an Israeli laboratory in a U.S. report.
The airborne fungus called Cryptococcus gatti has sparked panic worldwide since it was the cause of several deaths on the United States' West Coast.
As panic ensued due to the potential lethal scope of the fungus, last week an American journalist presented a theory that linked Israel to the spread of the fungus.
According to the report, the source of the fungus was in labs where the fungus was being researched in the United States, as well as in the Nes Tziona Biological Institute in Israel.
The report also linked an Israeli American scientist, Dr. Joseph Moshe, to the spread of the fungus.
Moshe was in the media spotlight last year when he was arrested in California last summer for threatening White House officials, after engaging in a police car chase. According to the U.S. media, Moshe researched the fungus in a California lab before his arrest.

Why doesn't Ha'aretz mention the source of this bizarre conspiracy theory?

It came from Truthout, a far left publication. The writer is also a known conspiracy theorist. He seems to love to quote unconfirmed reports and unnamed sources to link this person with not only this fungus but also other diseases.

There is indeed a respected, retired Israeli microbiologist named Moshe Bar-Joseph. He has nothing to do with this nut named Joseph Moshe who allegedly claims to be a Mossad bioscientist and may (or may not) have called up radio shows saying that the H1N1 vaccine is a bioweapon. As far as I can tell, no one has confirmed that Joseph Moshe is anything more than a crazy person who was arrested last August after a high-profile police chase, possibly after making threats against the president. Conspiracy theorists apparently combined the two together.

Ha'aretz, by giving these wild theories a major public airing without doing a modicum of research, has given anti-semites their best ammunition of all. Now, Palestinian Arab websites are already writing headlines that the Mossad is behind this deadly fungus, and within a day or two it will be believed as fact by the confluence of anti-semites and Arabs.

This is the worst kind of irresponsible journalism, because it ultimately could cost lives.

Egypt finds more weapons destined for Gaza

Palestine Today reports that for the third time in 48 hours, Egyptian forces have uncovered a major cache of weapons on their way to Gaza.

These included anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles as well as explosives.

They were hidden in the central Sinai.

"The Jews are the dregs of mankind"

The Translating Jihad blog found a choice Friday sermon published in the Gulf newspaper Al-Raya. Let's go right to the good parts:

Al-Bakri: Our Conflict with the Jews Is Ideological; Whoever Says Otherwise Is Mistaken

Shaykh ‘Abdallah al-Bakri, the Friday speaker [i.e. he who leads the Friday prayers] at the Hamid Ibn Khalid Al Thani Mosque [Doha, Qatar], said that the monumental events through which the ummah [Islamic nation] is currently passing should evoke its sense of mission and awaken its determination.

"Whoever is fortunate enough to have read the Qur’an and sunnah knows without a doubt that the conflict between us and the Jews, as well as with the Christians, is ideological more than anything else. This is the case with all of the enemies of Islam. Whoever errs on this point has the left the side of reason, and has failed to understand the truth, as the Most High has said: “Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans” [Qur’an 5.82], as well as, “Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion” [Qur’an 2.120]. Whoever wants to interpret the conflict with them [i.e. the Jews] in any way other than on this divine foundation, will continue to run after every mirage which appears on the horizon, but they will never obtain [even] one drop of water.

"The prudent reader of history understands that the Jews of yesterday, whose infamies are told to us in the Qur’an, were but bad ancestors to even worse descendants. They are infidels, corrupters of the word, worshipers of the calf, murderers of the prophets, slanderers of the message, enemies of the Islamic call, breakers of agreements, (even) the dregs of mankind. As our Lord said of them: “…those who incurred the curse of Allah and his wrath, those of whom some He transformed into apes and swine, those who worshipped evil;- these are (many times) worse in rank, and far more astray from the even path!" [Qur’an 5.60].

(Al-Bakri) said: “These are the Jews, an unbroken chain of vileness, craftiness, obstinacy, injustice, wickedness, and corruption: “…they (ever) strive to do mischief on the earth. Allah loveth not those who do mischief” [Qur’an 5.64]. They are an unbroken chain of treachery, deception, baseness, and inferiority. They (even) dared to attack the position of the divine: “Allah hath heard the taunt of those who say: ‘Truly, Allah is indigent and we are rich!’ [Qur’an 3.181], and “The Jews say: '(Allah)'s hand is tied up.' Be their hands tied up and be they accursed for the (blasphemy) they utter” [Qur’an 5.64]. They charged the Apostle with terrible things, accusing him of the most hideous crimes. They annoyed Moses, deceived ‘Isa [Jesus], killed Zakariyah and Yahya, and tried to kill Muhammad—they worked magic on him and poisoned him: “Is it that whenever there comes to you an apostle with what ye yourselves desire not, ye are puffed up with pride?- Some ye called impostors, and others ye slay!” [Qur’an 2.87]. This is their reality. It is not strange to see them commit any sort of crime or vile deed. What is strange is to see Muslims who make agreements with them or trust them, or run after their mirage and deception.”

There's the love and respect for religions that we are told so much about!

Earth will be destroyed if Jews want to live in Jerusalem

The hyperbole about the importance of the Israeli-Arab conflict grows daily, which is no mean feat.

Just today we read that Mideast tensions could spark a "catastrophe":

Russia's president said Tuesday that Israeli-Arab tensions threaten to draw the Middle East into a new catastrophe, adding Moscow's weight to a diplomatic push to ease antagonism between Israel and Syria.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, whose country has been building up its influence as a Middle East mediator, pledged its assistance in pushing the region toward peace.

“Tensions in the Middle East threaten to lead to a new explosion or even a catastrophe,” he said.

But that's bush league talk next to Turkish PM Erdogan, who implied that Israel is out to destroy Jerusalem:

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that those who tried to destroy Jerusalem would never be able to destroy the brotherhood and solidarity there, and Islamic world and Muslims would defy all attacks, threats and dark scenarios against Jerusalem, APA reports quoting turkishny.com web-page.

He added that those, who attempted to destroy Jerusalem, would only destroy the Middle East; they were not able to destroy the brotherhood and solidarity there.

Erdogan said that Jerusalem was common heritage of all humanity and holy place of over two billion Muslims. He added that Jerusalem was a holy place for Christians and Jewish people too.

That's so nice of him!

(Has the Muslim population doubled in the past year or so?)

Arabic websites had him going further:

"Do not forget that if Jerusalem is burned, Palestine would burn; if Palestine burns,, the Middle East would burn; and if the Middle East would burn then the world would burn."

Whew! All because some Jews want to live in their own capital city, the existence of the entire world is threatened!

If that doesn't prove how important Jews are, what does?

And the bizarre thing is that a large part of the world believes this nonsense.

Abbas plays games with the PLO

The JCPA Hebrew site notices something interesting from Al Quds al Arabi.

Over the weekend there were a number of news outlets that reported:

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to U.S.-mediated indirect talks with Israel after receiving Palestine Liberation Organization approval that cleared the way for the first negotiations in 17 months.

However, Al Quds al Arabi noticed that the PLO meeting did not have the required quorum. Seven senior members did not attend. According to the PLO's own laws, there was no approval.

That didn't stop serial liar Saeb Erekat from announcing that the PLO approved the talks.

The game, as Pinchas Inbari at JCPA points out, is that Abbas will try to extract major concessions from Israel while pretending to agree to a couple of minor concessions himself - but the PLO will not approve them. At that point it will be too late for Israel to go back on its promises, which will have been publicized widely.

(h/t Daled Amos)

Fatah in unification talks with other terrorists

From Ma'an:

As independent figures unveiled a new unity plan in Gaza, leaders of the Fatah, and leftist parties held a consultation meeting in Abu Dis on Tuesday afternoon to talk about political harmony.

Representing the leftists were senior officials from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, with the latter party hosting the meeting at their headquarters in the Palestinian municipality of Jerusalem.

The PFLP is on the State Department's list of foreign terror organizations, as is Fatah's own Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigades and Hamas.

The DFLP dropped off the list in 1999 because of the "absence of terrorist activity, as defined by relevant law...during the past two years." But they enthusiastically participated in Hamas' Operation Oil Stain, later called the Battle of the Criterion, known to the West as Operation Cast Lead.

Birds of a feather....

If the policy of the State Department is to drop terrorist groups that haven't done any attacks for two years, then what terror attacks have I missed from Kach/Kahane Chai, which is still on the list?

Imagine the outcry if the State Department decided to remove the lone Jewish group from that list using their own criteria!

Ancient "Palestine" in Syria?

From JPost:

The great kingdom of 'Palestine' once existed within Syrian and Turkish boundaries, Professor J.P Dessel of the University of Tennessee claimed in a statement released on Tuesday.

The professor, who is a member of the Tell Tayinat archeological digs in Turkey, and who presided at the Haifa University Ancient East Research Conference, asserted that the commonwealth was located between the cities of Aleppo, Hama and Antakya and the Turkish-Syrian border in the 12th and 11th centuries BC.

The significance of this find, which was being discussed in a special meeting, is that the ancient Philistine empire was not limited to the lands of Canaan.

Following the collapse of the Hittite dynasty in the 13th century BC, smaller states sprung up in areas that were previously under Hittite rule, one of which was Palestine. In his lecture, Dessel explained that this was concluded from new-found evidence which was unearthed in the Tell Tayinat excavations.

Hittite hieroglyphics were found on the Antakya site reading "Palestine." Similar hieroglyphics were found in the cities of Aleppo and Hama.

"This is a significant discovery which shows that the Philistines did not just hold land in Israel, but in Syria as well," Haifa University Professor Gershon Glil, the conference coordinator, said.

Since "Palestine" was a word made up by the Romans some 1400 years after this kingdom supposedly existed, either the Hittites had clairvoyance or our esteemed archaeologists are making a basic mistake of mixing up Philistines and "Palestine." Of course, Philistines were not Arabs and have nothing to do with the people who call themselves "Palestinian" today.

I couldn't possibly consider the idea that a professor would purposefully mislead people for political purposes by saying "Palestine" when he really mean "Philistina." No, of course not.

But, as Gentile Warrior points out, if Palestinian Arabs want to claim parts of Syria as their ancient land, are the Syrians going to stop their illegal occupation of "Palestine"?

Real organ theft in Egypt

Here are cases of real organ theft:

An Egyptian doctor, operating on a five-month old baby for a hernia, has been accused of stealing the baby's left testicle.

When confronted, he said he did it for scientific research.

Another Egyptian doctor has been accused to stealing the kidney of another patient in order to make it available for the doctor's younger brother.

Egypt seizes more Hamas arms, explosives

Ma'an (Arabic only) reports that Egyptian authorities have seized two more caches of arms and explosives near the Rafah border with Gaza.

One cache, which included anti-tank mines, was discovered in a graveyard some 3 km from the border. The other was found in a nearby warehouse, and Egyptian authorities have been increasing monitoring of Sinai warehouses.

These sorts of stories have not been making it into the English-language media very often, although they are regular events.

Threatened Arab boycott upsets Europeans

From Ha'aretz:

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Tuesday said he plans to attend the Mediterranean Union summit in Barcelona next month, despite threats that Arab states would boycott if he is present at the meeting, Israel Radio reported.
Arab countries are threatening to boycott the June meeting of leaders of Mediterranean countries if Lieberman attends.
The threat to boycott the Barcelona summit, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also scheduled to attend, was initiated by Egypt and Syria. They have informed both their Spanish hosts and France, which co-chairs the sponsoring organization, the Union for the Mediterranean, that Arab leaders will stay away if Lieberman shows up.
The Union for the Mediterranean was established in July 2008 by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in an effort to promote economic, scientific and cultural projects among countries bordering the Mediterranean. Egypt co-chairs the organization with France. The summit was scheduled for June 8 in Barcelona by virtue of Spain's rotating presidency of the European Union.
Netanyahu has already confirmed his attendance, and Lieberman had been expected to join him.
European diplomats told Haaretz that the threat to boycott the summit constitutes an intensification of the boycott Arab countries have imposed on contact with the Israeli foreign minister, given that Netanyahu, not Lieberman, is heading the Israeli delegation. They added that there is disappointment and even anger in Europe over the Arab countries' stance.
Senior Israeli officials confirmed the threat of a boycott. "The Arabs are not prepared to be in the same room with Lieberman, or to take the risk that they would have to be photographed with him or shake his hand," said one.
The feeling at the Foreign Ministry is that the Arab threat could lead to the summit either being canceled entirely or convening at a lower level, with officials of ambassadorial rank only. If this is the result, it would be seen as a humiliation not only for Spain and France, but for the European Union as a whole.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Porn movies being shot in house owned by Bin Ladens

From the Daily Star (UK):

OSAMA bin Laden’s family is making a fortune in America renting out a $26million Bel Air mansion to adult movie makers.

At least five porn films have been made in the nine-bed, ten-bathroom luxury home once owned by Wizard Of Oz producer Arthur Freed.

Neighbours in one of the world’s most glam gated communities include Liz Taylor and Avril Lavigne.

But they will not have seen Ibrahim Muhammad bin Laden, an older brother of the al-Qaida leader, who is named as owner of the luxury Bel Air Road property in land registry files.

He and his family fled America after the 9/11 terror attacks.

Records reveal Ibrahim to be the third owner of the Mediterranean-style home since the death in 1973 of triple Oscar winner Freed, who also produced 50s classics Singin’ In The Rain and Show Boat.

The films now being made there include last year’s porn flick Educating Alli, starring Alektra Blue.

It was one of at least five hardcore DVDs shot there by porn studio Wicked Pictures.

When will we be seeing jihadi porn?

A brief guide to some Palestinian Arab surnames (updated)

Here are some popular Palestinian Arab surnames, and their meaning in English:

al-Masri - the Egyptian
al-Mughrabi - the Moroccan
al-Djazair - the Algerian
al-Yamani - the Yemeni
al-Afghani - the Afghan
al-Turki - the Turk
al-Hindi - the Indian
al-Hourani - the Hauranite (from southern Syria)
al-Kurdi - the Kurd
al-Ajami - the Iranian
al-Shami- the Syrian
Khamis - Bahrain
al-Araj- part of Morocco
Halabi - Aleppo, Syria
Bardawil - named after a lake in Egypt

I have yet to hear of anyone with the surname "al-Filastini."